Hey guys, sorry this has taken me literally MONTHS to get around to - but I just wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who left a gift under my Luminaire Tree. I actually had a really really crappy Christmas and New Years so it was a really lovely surprise to see so many gifts waiting for me on here. Thank you so so much everyone.

Madagascar is still fun overall - I'm training three Divemasters at the moment so we are getting to do lots of fun bits and bobs. We went over to a different island for diving this week and saw THIRTEEN turtles on our two dives :D. I'm also getting cool, although at the time inconvenient, experience in compressor, boat and equipment repairs. I've also lost fifteen kilos since I first left home mid-December which is pretty sweet. We keep getting cyclones which is not so sweet and can make scheduling dive training within volunteer time limits quite stressful but my job is still essentially to play around in the sea and I see myself staying here for my full year contract :D. I'm a quarter of the way through already which is scary.

I know a lot of you have me on Facebook anyway, but as I don't upload photos much, you are welcome to follow the Frontier Madagascar page to see some cool uploads of trips and dive photos.

@ Opundo @ Wesker @ IMPULSE @ bodyache @ Xealias @ Ice @ taffyann @ Kitten @ Ewok @ Julie

You found a job you love, that is so awesome. The year will fly by and then something new will come your way. Just take care of yourself!!!

Glad to hear you're having fun! Any chance you can stay on longer than the year if you end up wanting to?

:D I miss you!

Thanks for the update glad to hear you're loving it. May the cyclones die down the waves be sweet for diving.

No worries hun. I feel you on the shitty holidays. My Christmas was awful but things have slowly been getting better.

Happy diving! Any chance you think you’ll stay longer than a year? Maybe they’ll hire you full time?

Glad to see you're well. :D

I'm basically the project manager for the entire project site right now as well as being their Dive Officer so I think they'd cry with happiness if I asked to do another year haha! I don't think I would though, it's a nice location but part of the beauty of diving is seeing different places and the pay is so bad that I couldn't afford to stray here for another year really. I'm thinking of signing up with Operation Wallacea as a freelance instructor which would give me a job in a random location every year for two months and finding other freelance work in the meantime/maybe doing some more bar work interspersed to get some money back.

There are two other companies in Madagascar that would definitely hire me after this but as much as I love the country I think I will be a bit fed up by the end of the year, it is very hard to maintain equipment and things here on an extremely low budget project and id quite like to do some guiding work as well as teaching somewhere.

The road is wide open for a lot of adventure! Do it while you're young! I'm sure a wonderful opportunity will come along your way! Good to see you here!!

I see so it was never meant to be a long term situation anyway. How fun though! I have never heard of Operation Wallacea. How hard is it to get accepted? How often do you get freelance assignments and for how long? What kind of places do they have you travel to?

hugglesquish I am glad that you are doing well, and it appears that I have limited time to get out to Madagascar then! I am sososo jealous for the life you are living but am so proud and happy that you found something that brings you joy. xoxo